Illumination
by OraclesChild23
Summary: Sasuke and Sakura both belong to a world full of scheming, manipulation and deceit. The two manage to engage in a secret relationship for a few months, but when Sasuke loses his memory, Sakura must decide if it's worth it to rehash old flames or if it's best to let sleeping dogs lie. AU SASU/SAKU NARU/HINA
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer :I dont own Naruto

She could feel him scowling even though she dared not look in his direction. A barely contained smirk flirted on the edges of her lips, try as she might, she could not hide her amusement from him.

She waited a full minute longer, reveling in his discomfort, before finally raising her arm and asking the teacher for permission to leave the room.

"Is everything alright, Sakura-san?" Asked Anko-sensei, her face more curious than concerned.

"I dont feel well, Anko-sensei. I think I should visit the nurse's office," she replied, belatedly putting a hand over her head and hoping Anko-sensei was busy enough to not examine the situation more closely.

"I'll go with her!" Naruto yelled enthusiastically.

Sakura could feel the tension in the air emanating from that certain person. Temptation proved too great for her. Pretending to flick her hair off her shoulder, Sakura let her eyes settle on that person for less than a second before returning her eyes to Anko-sensei.

Fists pale from the effort of clenching them in his lap, shards of ice in place of his eyes, lips an unforgiving slash. Sakura would have rolled her eyes at his antics if she could.

He was furious.

He was jealous and petty and possessive.

But he was still hers, and he was breathtaking to her even now. Perhaps this was the meaning of true love. Not that either of them had ever been in love before.

"No," Anko-sensei said with a scowl. "The two of you would just chat and do God knows what else-"

-At this the class jeered and made suggestive noises at Naruto. Sakura maintained her impassive facade, but she could sense 'his' tension was almost at the point of spilling over. For a second she seriously wondered if he would let his fury get the best of him and expose the truth-

"Quiet! Now then, Sasuke-kun, why dont you accompany Sakura-chan to the nurse's office. At least I dont have to worry about anything happening between the two of you," said Anko, to which the class reacted in snorts and barely concealed giggles.

It was a well-known fact that Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura hated each other. More accurately: their families hated each other. The animosity between Sasuke and Sakura was just the results of their parents conflicting interests in the business world.

Despite being placed in the same class since kindergarten, the two never spoke to each other unless the situation called for it.

The only time anyone can actually recall them speaking was a few months ago when they were assigned as partners for a school project... But no one spoke about 'The Incident' in public.

Flashback

"I need a new partner!" Yelled Sakura.

The teacher, Kakashi-sensei, slowly lowered his book long enough to give her a level stare.

"Why's that?" He drawled out, making his question sound more like a bored statement.

"He's... I just... I need a new partner!"

"She is impossible to work with! I need a new partner, Kakashi, or I might fail because of her!"

"Nope," replied Kakashi, his eye crinkling pleasantly. "You two will just have to work together or fail and go to summer school together."

Their project was completed though no one could fathom how the two managed to get along long enough to get anything accomplished. There was a fair share of speculation that they had paid a servant to complete the task for them, and certainly their disposition towards each other never changed.

Once their respective parents heard about the incident Kakashi-sensei was fired and The Incident was never spoken about again...

End of Flashback

They made their way out of the classroom in silence. Sasuke walking two steps in front of her, not even looking back to see if she was following him.

They carried on this way, passing numerous closed classroom doors. That was a stroke of luck; none of the other classes witnessed their journey - not to the nurse's office like they told Anko, but instead up the numerous flights of stairs...

Somewhere around the second flight, Sasuke abruptly turned around, pinning Sakura to the wall closest to them.

"You really enjoyed that, didn't you?" He asked, caressing the her cheek and hip bone as he lowered his face.

Sakura tilted her face towards him as well, her hands gently resting on his chest and shoulder.

"Not here. Wait until we reach the roof," she whispered.

"I cant wait," Sasuke gritted out through clenched teeth. His normally distant obsidian eyes now swam with unbriddled lust as he stared at the girl in front of him.

She laughed - a soft tinkling noise that coiled it's way around his stomach - before turning around. "We're almost there, Sasuke. And for the record, yes I did enjoy that."

She didn't wait for his reply, taking the stairs two at a time as she raced for the roof.

Despite her advantage, it was Sasuke who reached the roof first. She had barely closed the door behind her and taken a breath of the fresh air before she found herself caged between his arms again. His body pressing against her, allowing her to feel his coiled, well-toned muscles.

He wasted no time with preliminaries, attaching his lips to hers and dominating her mouth. Sakura moaned into the kiss as his tongue massaged her own, coaxing hers into moving against him.

Her lungs burnt from the lack of oxygen and eventually she broke of the kiss, gasping for air in the process.

Sasuke wasn't done. His mouth moved to her neck, kissing and licking as he began unbuttoning her school shirt.

"We cant," she said, ducking under his arm and redoing the buttons.

Sasuke made a low growling noise as he leaned his head against the door to the roof.

"We dont have time for this. They'll get suspicious if we're not back in class soon," said Sakura walking up to the guard rails and closing her eyes as she basked in the sunlight.

"For a second I thought you were going to sock Naruto back there. You know he's just my friend, right? He's dating Hinata," she said without turning around.

"I dont care if he has a girlfriend. I dont want him near you. Period," said Sasuke, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

Sakura knew that they were taking a risk - although they were on the fourth floor of the building there was still a possibility that someone would be able to see them. But... just this once... she thought, leaning her head against his chest and leaning into him.

After a few moments of total relaxation, Sasuke finally broke the silence.

"It's not just Naruto, you know."

"Hmm?"

His mouth moved but no words seemed to be spoken. After a few moments, in which Sakura patiently waited for his reply, he finally managed to speak, stunted and hesitant as the words were.

"I-I dont like it... when other guys look at you like that... I wish I could just tell them to stay away from you... To tell them that you're already seeing someone."

Sakura felt a distant tug in her chest but chose to ignore it and untangle herself from his arms. "What are you saying?" She asked turning around to see his face.

Compared to the open vulnerabilty of his face - something he had never revealed to anyone before - her eyes seemed too sharp, already closed off to him.

"Nothing, sorry. It must be the sun effecting me," he said, sighed to himself before drawing her back to him and kissing her lips.

'I love you!'

He mentally berated himself for his inability to say the words he wanted to say. Though from her reaction, he doubted Sakura would be too impressed by overly sentimental words - wasn't it she who suggested they think of each other as nothing more than friends with benefits?

At the time, Sasuke had agreed, not expecting that she would be anything more than a way to releave some tension. Plenty of girls at school would kill to be in her position, but Sasuke was always weary of girls getting too attached, or spreading rumours about him at school.

The fact that they had to keep there relationship a secret from everyone - for both their sakes - garanteed that Sakura was the perfect choice. He'd never expected to fall in love with the girl - the one girl he could never have.

She was too cynical to believe in his words anyway. Too proud to admit that she might feel the same way. Too realistic to invest emotionally in a relationship that could never work out in the end.

Still though... Sasuke tried to convey his feelings in the meeting of their lips, softly caressing her as he moved.

"We should get going now," Sakura said at last. Feeling oddly uncomfortable at the look he was giving her, she rubbed her arms before raising her hood and blocking his view of her. For the life of her she couldn't fathom a reason why she should be blushing now of all times! Especially when they had done so much more in the past.

Sasuke softly chuckled, earning himself a punch in the shoulder from Sakura as she huffed and walked past him. At the last moment his eyes sadened and with her back now to him, he uttered the words he'd been trying to say all week.

"Sakura, about the Galla my mother's holding tonight. I know you'll be attending so I thought it best you hear it from me," said Sasuke taking a deep breath. Behind him he could hear Sakura's footsteps pause and knew that she was listening.

"She plans to formally announce my engagement at this party. It was not my choice of course - this was arranged between our families since I was 9. The girl - Karin - I've only met her a handful of times..." he said trailing off, unsure of what to say and feeling like a weakling for letting his parents control his life like this.

"I see. Well congratulations, Sasuke," Sakura said stiffly before leaving.

As soon as the doors closed behind her she closed her eyes and let out a heaving breath. She knew that their relationship had no future. She knew!

It was her nature to distance herself from people who would end up hurting her. That was just her way. She'd been betrayed and let down by her family and friends too many times to let herself completely love another human.

But somehow, without meaning to, she'd come to rely on Sasuke's presence in her life. And now even he was moving on without her.

Was this her first heartbreak? She wondered as she wiped rebellious tears off her cheeks.

She shut down her feelings before heading to the bathroom to wash her face. Above everything else, she had to make sure no one saw her distressed.

END OF CHAPTER

I hope no one hates Sakura :( she has her reasons

Thank you for reading this ^^


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter 2**

From as early as I can remember, until the age of 12, I used to be a pageant princess. Elegance, poise, stature. Point your toes. Tilt your head. Walk around the stage and hit your marks without looking down. Blow a kiss to the judges. And smile, smile, SMILE. The perfect hair, smile, teeth, complexion. Of course I had to wear a wig because my own natural pink hair was too unseemly for serious competitions. Putting on glamorous dresses that would be considered OTP and cheap at one of mother's events.

Ironically enough, it was my mother who decided to introduce me to that lifestyle, trying to instill some of the ladylike qualities that my older sister Danika never had.

Every child wants their parents to notice them to some extent. For Danika it meant becoming a drug addict. For our older brother Aiden it meant spitting in our parents faces by declining the position as head of the company and cutting off communication with our family.

But I was different. I craved nothing more than to please our parents. I used to be _so hopelessly optimistic._ Every morning I'd go to my father and smile and wish him well as he headed of to work. And every morning he'd just stare at me impassively and walk away, never looking back as he left the house.

"Your father is a very busy man," Yuri, my nanny used to say.

Danika used to just roll her eyes. I was too young to remember Aiden, who'd left home when I was just 3. But Danika had been 8 at the time - old enough to understand that while all three of us may have been their children, as the oldest and only male, Aiden was the one they cherished the most. He was expected to inherit the the family business and continue the family name. After he left, our parents seemed to distance themselves even further from us. It hurt knowing I'd always live in my siblings shadow, but still I hoped that if I tried hard enough that they'd eventually love me. Or at the very least _see me._

Pageants were the only time my mother noticed my existance. Usually her days consisted of swarees and meetings with other businessmen's wives, the occasional charity event. She lived the life of a socialite and she enjoyed it. But I'd like to think the pageants somehow brought us closer together...

I loved the rush of getting on stage and becoming someone else - different hair, make-up, dressing. Even my teeth and eyelashes were fake. Being in pageants taught me composure. I learnt to mask my feelings and instead portray a girl whose biggest problem was the length of her skirt.

It was fickle and vain and not something alot of people know about me. But pageants did end up teaching me how to cover my disappointment.

I'm not sure when it happened, but around the age of 12 my mother stopped entering me in pageants completely. It made no sense considering how well I performed in them, but I didn't complain. By that point I'd learnt not to expect anything from either of my parents.

You can't be disappointed if you never had any expectations in the first place. That was my motto. I'd say it over and over and over again. Every time they'd miss a school concert, or a parent-teacher conference, or a birthday.

Fake a smile. Maintain eye contact with the judges - of course in this case the judges were my classmates. Posture - don't look down when you walk. And most importantly, don't let anyone see your flaws.

I was too proud to let anyone see the inner turmoil going on within me.

And then, around the 16th summer of my life, I was assigned a project with none other than Uchiha Sasuke. He saw the pain I had tried my whole life to conceal. He was the only one who saw. The only one who understood.

As the second son of successful businessman he could relate.

He broke through my defenses with his snark and cynicism, and not even the fact that our families hated each other was enough to deter us.

We were both selfish; using each other to fill the emptiness within ourselves. We had no illusions about how wrong it was, but we were too reckless to care.

You can't be disappointed if you have no expectations.

I tried to convince myself that I had no expectations towards Sasuke. Nevertheless, I was still caught totally of guard by his engagement.

**Thanks for reading it. Please review. Next chapter will definitely be longer and it won't be from Sakura's POV**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto**

**Chapter 3**.

Thoughts of Sasuke's impending engagement plagued Sakura's mind the rest of the day. Though none of the teachers commented on it, it was clear to them that something was troubling the girl. Even Naruto and Hinata picked up on her gloomy aura but were unsure whether to enquire about the cause - Sakura was a very private person, after all. Sasuke kept trying to catch her eye and even sent her a few text messages but she made a point of ignoring him.

When the final siren announced the school day to be over, Sakura wasted no time in bidding her friends goodbye and exiting the building. She spared a small wave in the direction of Sasuke's limo driver - Hatake Kakashi, their former teacher, before heading in the direction of her own driver waiting to assist her into the vehicle.

"Ms Haruno. Did you have a pleasant day at school?" Asked Blake with a deep bow.

Sakura ignored his question and got into the back of the car, indicating with a flick of her wrist that he should drive as fast as possible.

Upon arriving at home, Sakura was not surprised to find no one there to greet her. Nonetheless, she still called out the traditional "I'm home." only to receive her answering reply from one of the maids, Rika.

"Ms Haruno, your mother has asked that you accompany her to the Uchiha party tonight, and that you be ready by no later than 7p.m. She also asks that you wear the gold embroidered dress - don't worry it's already come back from the dry cleaners. Your stylist, Ami has been informed of the hairstyle and jewelry you are to wear, as per your mother's request. You may begin preparations after lunch," said Rika, stiffly reading aloud from the Tablet device in her hand.

The Haruno matriarch had requested that each of the hired help receive one, claiming that it was necessary for relaying her orders clearly to them without her having to physically interact with them. Her husband had complied, also seeing this as a benefit. The younger maids couldn't believe their luck, whilst the older ones like Rika simply clucked their tongues at having to understand this technology.

Sakura nodded her understanding and walked away, she didn't care about the fact that her mother had made preparations without her because she had no intentions of actually showing up to the party anyway...

x

"Sakura, what is the meaning of this? I just received a call from Ami who was almost in tears! For some reason she thinks you don't need her to get ready for tonight's party."

Mrs Haruno was a wisp of a woman with vibrant blonde locks and the height of a model. Dressed as she was in a sheath evening gown with her hair elaborately pinned in place, she was the epitome of refined elegance and grace. Right now though, the worry on her face was evident to those who knew her well in the barely discernable wrinkles around her eyes.

"She probably thinks that because that's what I told her. I'm not going to the Uchiha Party tonight, sorry Mother," Sakura said, from her desk without turning her eyes away from her homework.

"_Why?" _Asked Mrs Haruno, double checking the time on her wrist watch before returning her attention to Sakura.

"Homework."

"Well thats ridiculous; just ask your tutor to do it for you and tell her to charge it to my account. Now stop wasting time and get a move on. I'm sure if you apologize to Ami she'll return and you'll have just enough time to get ready," said Mrs Haruno with a dismissive flick of her wrist.

"But Mother I don't w-"

"No buts, Sakura," said Mrs Haruno authoritatively. "No one actually _wants _to be attending an Uchiha function but think of how it will look if you don't show up. Your father is still doing business in Washington, Danika and Aiden are off doing God only knows what. It's just you and me..." Sakura tried not to wince at the way her mother trailed off almost wistfully, but it wasn't long before she found her bearings and continued in her cold no nonsense approach. "We're going. We made a commitment now we have to stick to it."

"_You _made a commitment," muttered Sakura under her breath.

"What was that?" Asked Mrs Haruno sharply.

Sakura took a deep breath and let visions of Sasuke and his _fiance _dancing and celebrating give her the courage to do what she had only ever dreamed of doing in the past - stand up to her mother.

"I said that this was your commitment, Mother. You were the one that agreed to go. You were the one that checked 'plus one' on the invitation. Not me. I never agreed to go, you just assumed I'd go along with this like I always do; well not this time." Sakura thought of her mother dragging her over to congratulate the happy couple, and the look Sasuke would give her... No she refused to do it. Speaking more softly, she said; "Not for this. I'm not going, so if you don't mind please leave, I have lots of work to do."

Mrs Haruno could do nothing but stand at the threshold of her daughter's room, staring open-mouthed at the child in front of her. She might have even opened and closed her mouth several times as if to speak, but no words came out. After a few seconds of this she seemed to come to her senses and without a word or a glance behind, she swiftly exited the room, leaving a lingering scent of the rose perfume she so loved.

Sakura gazed at the doorway a few moments longer, hardly believing what had just transpired, before releasing a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. She smiled ruefully to herself. Who would have known it would take Sasuke's engagement for her to finally say no to her mother.

x

Ebizu clenched his hands into fists in an effort to conceal the way they were slightly shaking. Sasuke Uchiha had been in an exceptionally bad mood after returning from school this afternoon, and the servants had been trying their best to avoid crossing paths with him. Unfortunately for Ebizu who had drawn the short straw, speaking directly to Sasuke was unavoidable.

"Sasuke-sama," Ebizu nervously bowed, hardly daring to enter the youngest son's study. "Your father has requested you join him in the dining room."

After a few seconds in which Sasuke said nothing, Ebizu finally gathered enough courage to glance up at him.

Sasuke had been pacing the length of the room restlessly. His tousled ebony hair - normally so well groomed - now stood up at awkward angles, no doubt the result of the many times he had run his hands through them.

Suddenly he seemed to realise what Ebizu had said - and the fact that Ebizu was still standing in the doorway, awaiting his reply. With an irritated "Tch", Sasuke rolled his eyes and stalked out of the room, heading to the dining room.

"Sasuke," said his father, Fugaku, nodding his head in acknowledgement.

Cautiously, Sasuke returned the gesture, wondering what his father had to say. His entire life he'd been told by various members of his family that his father's time was precious and now here he was; at home, requesting to speak with him.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I've called you here," said Fugaku. The Uchiha patriarch had a deep, gruff voice. Every word out of his mouth was short and sharp, like a sergeant general barking orders at his troops. For a long time, that voice had seemed almost reassuring to Sasuke. Now that he was old enough, he wasnt quite sure anymore. "Well, let's not mince words. The company's not doing too well Sasuke. Quite frankly,we're in debt. Your brother Itachi is working very hard trying to do damage control, but that damn bastard Haruno keeps stealing our clients!

"That's why we need you, Sasuke to go through with this wedding. The Hyuuga's are a respectable family with major connections in the business world. The old man, Hiashi, holds his family in the highest regard. As soon as the engagements announced he'll want to place you somewhere in his company. Ultimately we plan to merge HyuugaCorp with Sharingan.

This has been our goal all along, the result of years of planning, from even before you were born. Only you can do this for our company. I'm counting on you, Sasuke."

Fugaku turned his attention to the newspaper in front of him, and Sasuke understood that he was being dismissed. Almost disbelievingly, he realised that he hadn't even managed to get a word in.

Returning to the study, Sasuke was surprised to find Itachi there, casually sitting in his chair, reading Sasuke's bio notes.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked without any preamble.

Itachi, the spitting image of Fugaku, give or take a few wrinkles, simply raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I'm guessing that little father-son talk didn't go well. Anyways, don't mind me," he said gesturing for Sasuke to take a seat next to him and finish his homework.

Sasuke crossed his arms and remained rooted to the spot. "I'm serious, Itachi. Just say what you have to say and then leave."

"My, what hostility," said Itachi, contradicting his words by speaking in his disinterested tone. "I just wanted to tell you that despite whatever our parents say, the business will not fall apart if you don't marry Hanabi Hyuuga. Marriage is a very sacred vow and should not be taken lightly by one as young as yourself -"

"What do you know about marriage," said Sasuke, laughing.

Itachi crossed the room in a few long strides, patronizingly patting his brother on his head. "I know nothing about it, Sasu-chan. Except that the only reason one should consider it, is love. Are you in love with Hanabi, Sasuke? No, I really don't think so, considering you haven't even met her yet."

Sasuke opened his mouth to hurl another insult at Itachi, but before he could, Itachi's next words cut him off.

"The truth is that our parents had an agreement with the Hyuuga's but it was never about you. From the moment of her birth, I was engaged to Hinata Hyuuga. I refused, so Father instead passed the burden onto you. With Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi. The point I'm trying to make is that if you refuse to marry, it's not the end of the world. Mother and Father will eventually see the error of their ways and you will be saved from making the biggest mistake of your life. No pressure. Just think about it."

And with that, Itachi had left the room. Leaving behind a very frustrated and confused Sasuke.

He took a deep breath and released it in a huge gush, reflecting on what Itachi had said. Without warning his face distorted in rage and he punched the wall closest to him, growling almost animalisticly.

Once again, he was just the back up plan. Itachi had failed to go through with his marriage so instead the burden fell on Sasuke's shoulders. It had always been like this. Sasuke had always been so eager to prove himself to his father, he'd always done everything he'd asked. But this time, whatever Sasuke decided had huge ramifications on other people as well.

x

Sakura made sure to avoid the west wing of the house for the rest of the evening, knowing that that was probably where her mother was. When it was time for Mrs Haruno to leave, she did so without bidding Sakura good night, despite knowing that she would only be returning in the early hours of the morning, by which time Sakura would already be in bed.

Sakura sighed as she heard sounds of the maids chatter downstairs. She knew her mother must have left already - they generally only get this rowdy when her parents aren't at home.

Quiet frankly, she was emotionally exhausted. Why did she care if Sasuke was getting engaged? It's not like there could ever be a future between them anyway. Sure they had a few kisses and secret meetings, but they knew it could never last. And why should she feel guilty for her mother's behaviour? Surely it was not Sakura's fault that her father and siblings were not here right now and left her to deal with her unstable mother.

It still hurt though. Sakura finally succumbed to her tears. _It really hurt._ She wished she had someone to confide in, but knew that there was no one.

It was sometime after midnight when she heard a scraping sound from her window. She jerked upright from the desk her head had been resting against and rubbed the grit out of her eyes, idly wondered when she had fallen asleep. It wasn't long before another round of scraping made her turn to the window, or more specifically, the person standing there, running a coin up and down the glass, and producing the horrible screeching noise she'd been hearing.

For a second, paranoia caused her to glance around her room, making sure no one else was with her, before rushing over to the window and letting Sasuke Uchiha into the room.

"You know, normal people just knock," Sakura said, as soon as Sasuke was inside the room. She didn't mean to blurt it out, but it was a relief to have some light conversation after the day she'd just had.

"Normal people," said Sasuke, gently kissing her cheek, "usually use the front door. I prefer to think of myself as exceptional, thank you very much."

"I'm sure you do," Sakura said, playfully rolling her eyes. After a seconds pause, she couldn't help it, she had to ask. "Aren't you supposed to be at your engagement party or something?"

Sasuke shrugged and took a seat at the edge of her bed, staring up at her. Suddenly Sakura noticed that he was dressed in a casual pair of dark jeans and a hooded blue coat. A black gym bag lay next to his leg.

"You're planning to run away," Sakura realised the truth to her words as they left her mouth. Sasuke looked at her as though expecting something from her. "What?" She finally asked defensively.

He stared at her a few agonizing moments longer, before finally saying what she had already knew he would, deep down in her heart.

"Come with me, Sakura."

**I am in desperate need of a beta. Not so much for spelling, but for grammar and also just to be my sounding board. I feel like I need to discuss this plot with someone before it drives me crazy XD I know what I want to happen, right now it's the sequence of events and the pacing that's troubling me.**

**PM me or leave me a review if you might be interested.**

**Thanks for reading this, please review and let me know what you think of the story so far.**


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